This invention relates generally to the art of nondestructive measurement, and more particularly to the art of measuring the level of solid, dry particles within a container.
A principal use of a level detection system is in the art of packaging. The amount of material that is to be placed into a container is often times measured by the height of that material within the container, rather than by weight or by other measures. Such is often the case in the package food industry. The determination of a fill level for dry, solid pieces or particles to be packaged is difficult because of a varying surface height. Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for determining the position of a rough top surface of container contents.